How to Hyphenate Halloween Terms

Halloween is a blast for most people, but it can be a hyphen hell for copy editors. Test your knowledge on the right way to write these Halloween terms.

What are the correct words to fill in the blanks in this sentence: The children wanted to ______ at the house with the scary-looking ______.

  1. trick-or-treat jack-o'-lantern

  2. trick or treat jack-o'-lantern

  3. trick-or-treat jack-o-lantern

  4. trick or treat jack o' lantern

And the correct answer is the first option, “trick-or-treat” and “jack-o'-lantern.” The traditional greeting, “trick or treat,” isn't hyphenated, as when children on Halloween greet someone opening the door to their house with “Trick or treat?” However, nouns, adjectives, and verbs are hyphenated, as in “The kids went trick-or-treating,” “There were many trick-or-treaters,” “The trick-or-treat hours are from five to eight,” and “We trick-or-treated until eleven.” And “jack-o’-lantern” is always spelled with hyphens and an apostrophe that indicates an omitted “f” in “of,” for what was originally “Jack-of-the-lantern.” The name originated from Britain, where it used to be used to refer to a man with a lantern or to a night watchman. At that time, the British often called men whose names they didn't know by a common name, like “Jack.” For this reason, an unknown man carrying a lantern was sometimes called "Jack of the lantern." From there, it somehow began to be applied to a hollowed-out pumpkin.

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